ABSTRACT
There are over 100,000 strokes each year in the UK. A very small proportion of these can be attributed to gunshot wounds and subsequent surgical intervention. We present a rare case of a 24-year-old male patient admitted to the Emergency Department having sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his neck. Initial imaging and surgical exploration revealed significant left-sided vertebral artery damage and a complete transection of the internal carotid artery. Following damage control surgery (DCS), the patient was admitted to ITU but had an acute neurological deterioration and was found to have suffered malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) syndrome, requiring an urgent decompressive craniectomy. The patient's National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at this stage was 26. After a prolonged ITU stay and repatriation to a local stroke unit for intensive therapies input, the patient walked out of the hospital independently on day 106, with an improved NIHSS of 3. This case report aims to highlight the rarity of an ischaemic stroke, secondary to the DCS required for a near fatal gunshot wound, along with the importance of timely recognition of an acute deterioration following artery ligation. Additionally, it aims to examine the lifesaving surgical management of malignant MCA syndrome and in turn the significance of the shared decision-making process between clinicians, the patient, and family members, due to the high rate of poor functional outcomes following this major surgery.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ehrlichiosis is an important emerging infectious disease of the canid family and humans worldwide. To date, no extensive evaluation or validation of a molecular diagnostic test for ehrlichiosis has been published. Here, we present data for a newly designed TaqMan assay and compare its performance to a commercial technology (PCRun®). Both of these real-time methods of analysis were evaluated using a comprehensive number of prospective and retrospective samples collected from dogs exhibiting symptoms of ehrlichiosis. RESULTS: Whole blood samples collected from dogs, retrospectively in the United Kingdom and prospectively in Israel, were analysed for the presence of Ehrlichia canis and Ehrlichia minasensis DNA using the TaqMan PCR, developed specifically for this study. The results were compared to those of a real time commercial isothermal amplification method (PCRun® system developed by Biogal Galed Labs ACS, Galed, Israel). The sensitivity and specificity (CI: 95%) of the TaqMan PCR and PCRun® were both determined to be 100% and absolute, for all of the samples tested. Interestingly, both tests were demonstrated to be highly comparable, irrespective of differences in amplification chemistry or sequences targeted. Host differences, incidence of disease and geographical location of the isolates had little impact on the positivity recorded by each of the diagnostic methods. CONCLUSIONS: It was evident that both amplification methods were equally suited for diagnosing canine ehrlichiosis and while the PCRun® clearly amplified all clinically relevant Ehrlichia species known to infect dogs and humans, the TaqMan method was more specific for E. canis and E. minasensis. This work demonstrates that despite good analytical sensitivities and specificities for Ehrlichia spp. neither method could fully account for the clinical diagnosis of thrombocytopenia.